Device for adjustment and line-by-line movement of a type body in a type printing device

ABSTRACT

A device for positioning a type body of the plurality of type carriers with respect to a hammer means and moving the type body and hammer means with respect to a platen of a type printing device using a single feed device and pull. One end of the pull is attached to a carriage for the type body and the other end is rigidly coupled to the type body and flexibly connected to the carriage. A character selection means which varies the length of the path of the pull in response to a signal causes the pull to move the type body to position the desired type carrier with the hammer means. When a type body has type carriers aligned in two coordinate directions, the pull has two portions at the other end, each portion having an adjustment mechanism or device so that the type body is moved the desired distance in both coordinate directions.

atet 1191 K01 er 1 May 20, 1975 1 DEVICE FOR ADJUSTMENT AND 3,256,969 6/1966 Bretti 197/49 3,310,147 3/1967 Clary et .61. 197/55 LINE BY LINE MOVEMENT OF A TYPE 3,374,873 3/1968 Takenaka et a1. 197/49 BODY IN A TYPE PRINTING DEVlCE [75] lnventor: Rudolf Koller, Munich, Germany [73] Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, Berlin and Munich, Germany [22] Filed: Sept. 2, 1969 [21] Appl. No.: 854,409

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Sept. 5, 1968 Germany 6753614 [52] US. Cl 197/49; 101/93.14 [51] Int. Cl B4lj 19/18 [58] Field of Search 197/49, 55; 101/111, 93

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,757,775 8/1956 Hickerson 197/49 3,010,387 11/1961 Deutsch 101/111 X 3,041,964 7/1962 Simpson et a1. 101/111 3,063,540 1l/1962 Howard 197/49 3,164,086 l/l965 Keck lOl/lll 3,227,259 l/1966 Howard 197/49 3,228,510 l/1966 Howard 197/49 Primary Examiner-Edgar S. Burr Assistant Examiner W. Pieprz Attorney, Agent, or FirmHill, Gross, Simpson, Van Santen, Steadman, Chiara & Simpson [57] ABSTRACT A device for positioning a type body of the plurality of type carriers with respect to a hammer means and moving the type body and hammer means with respect to a platen of a type printing device using a single feed device and pull. One end of the pull is attached to a carriage for the type body and the other end is rigidly coupled to the type body and flexibly connected to the carriage. A character selection means which varies the length of the path of the pull in response to a signal causes the pull to move the type body to position the desired type carrier with the hammer means. When a type body has type carriers aligned in two coordinate directions, the pull has two portions at the other end, each portion having an adjustment mechanism or device so that the type body is moved the desired distance in both coordinate directions.

7 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEU HAY2O'975 3.884.838

SHEET 2 OF 3 INVENTOR RUDOLF KOLLER ATTORNEYS PAIENTED 73.884338 SHEET 30F 3 f "li b Fig.

RUDQL, LER

MATORNYS DEVICE FOR ADJUSTMENT AND LINE-BY-LINE MOVEMENT OF A TYPE BODY IN A TYPE PRINTING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l. Field of the Invention The present invention is directed to a type printing device and particularly to a mechanism for both advancing a carriage supporting the type carriers and for moving the selected type carrier into the printing position.

2. Description of the Prior Art One type of known typewriter type devices utilizes a great number of type levers disposed on the carriage which levers are independently actuated to imprint the desired character on a sheet of paper. To obtain the high printing velocities and to reduce the working noises to the barest minimum, it is necessary to keep to a minimum the masses to be moved during the printing operation and therewith the moment of inertia of the parts to be moved. Therefore, a typewriter device using type levers disposed on a carriage has proven unsatisfactory in a high speed printing device.

To reduce the masses of the parts in a printing device, a type bar or type holder which holds a type carrier for each of the symbols to be printed and which is positioned with a pressure comcomponent or hammer to print the desired character has been utilized. In this type of machine, the type carriers are arranged in one or two coordinate directions and the bar and the pressure component are moved discrete distances along the stationary platen as the printing is produced. Since a single pressure component is used to strike the selected type carrier of the type bar, the type bar must be adjusted to place the desired type carrier in the path of the pressure component or hammer. Several types of linkages have been utilized for positioning the type bar with respect to the pressure component such as a planet-wheel mechanism, lever mechanism or cable pull mechanism. In a cable pull mechanism, the length of the cable which is attached to the type bar is adjusted to cause the positioning of the desired type carrier in the path of the pressure component.

The feed motion for the entire type bar system must be superimposed on the adjustment movement of the type bar for each symbol printed. To achieve this end, a type mechanism in a teletype printer or typewriter is known in the art with a type bar, which has a plurality of type of the customary symbol to be printed, and includes a cable which is connected with the type bar to move it to select a symbol to be printed. The cable is divided in two portions one portion being provided for the symbol selection and the other portion for the gradual feed. The two cable portions are coupled by a roller with the first cable portion frictionally coupled to the roller and the second cable portion laid around the roller and connected at one end to the type bar and the other end to the mechanism having a pawl and stepping wheel which gradually takes up the cable. On the side of the type bar opposite to the place of attachment for the cables, a spring is attached and extends to the frame of the typewriter. The spring applies a strain to the ca bles and absorbs the position changes. Since the spring has to take up both the movement of the type bar carriage during the gradual feed of each printing position and the movement of the type bar carried out during the type adjustment to select the proper type carrier,

the spring must be very long in order to be in conformity with these high demands and to exert the necessary force on the type bar over the entire travel across the fixed platen. Such spring arrangements which meet these demands are difficult to obtain, are expensive and are difficult to maintain. In the above-described method for moving the type bar across the page and for imposing a symbol selection signal, the pressure component or hammer requires a separate cable line mechanism for movement by the mechanism across the page in response to the feed signal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a mechanism using a cable pull which applies a superimposed movement of the feed to the type body across the platen and the signal selection movement required for obtaining the printing of the desired symbol. The type body having the type carriers is movably mounted on a carrier and coupled to an end of a cable pull which is flexibly attached to the carriage. The cable extends through a character selection means and is directly engaged by a feed means with the other end rigidly attached to the carrier so that the feed means imparts the desired feeding travel and the character selection means causes the type body to move with respect to the carriage to position the desired type carrier with the pressure component or hammer means.

In the preferred embodiments, the pressure component is mounted on the carriage of the type body so that the single mechanism moves both the type body and the pressure component. In one embodiment the cable or pull is provided with a pair of cable portions each of which is associated with means and a character selection each of which is coupled to a type body having type carriers arranged in two coordinate directions so that the type bar is adjusted in both of these directions to position the desired type carrier in the path of the pressure component.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows the mechanism of the present invention with portions diagrammatically presented and the type carriers mounted on the end of the pull;

FIG. 2 illustrates the present invention utilized to rotate a cylindrical type body, and

FIG. 3 illustrates the present invention utilized to shift a cylindrical type body in a vertical or axial direction.

AS SHOWN ON THE DRAWINGS Although the principles of the present invention are described hereinafter in view of certain preferred embodiments, various modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concept of the disclosure.

In FIG. 1, the major parts of the invention are illustrated and are a platen 1, a carriage 2, a character selection means 3, a signal receiving means 3a feed means 4, and a pull or cable 5. At one end of the pull 5, type carriers 6 of a type bar or type body are mounted to form a unitary pull and type bar which is flexibly connected to the carriage 2 by a flexible connection 7 which is illustrated diagrammatically as a spring. Preferably the type carriers are molded or formed from the material of the pull 5 to provided an integral unit. The carriage 2 also supports a pressure component 8 which is a hammer that strikes a type carrier 6 to cause imprinting on a sheet of paper supported on the platen l. A ribbon (not illustrated) extends between the type carriers 6 and the platen for supplying the necessary printing inks or materials. As illustrated, the carriage 2 is moved on guides or supports 9 along the platen 1.

To hold the type carrier 6 in the proper orientation with respect to the hammer means 8, a pair of support rolls 10 are carried on the carriage 2. Thus variation in the tension of the pull caused by the character selec-. tion means 3 which is absorbed by the flexible connection 7 causes shifting of the type carriers in the supporting rolls with respect to the hammer means 8.

To advance the carriage 2 on its supports 9 along th platen 1, the pull 5 is rigidly connected at one end to the carriage 2. The pull from this rigid connection is fed across idler rolls such as 12 and has a portion which is or positively engaged by the feed means 4. From the feed means 4, the pull 5 is fed through the character selection means 3 over another idler roll 12a to an idler roll 10a disposed on the carriage 2. Thus due to the action of the feed means 4, the pull 5 advances the carriage 2 along the platen l and due to the action of the character selection means 3 shifts the type carriers 6 in front of the pressure component or hammer 8 so that the desired type carrier is in position for printing. The aggregate motion of the pull 5 provides both the feeding of the carriage in a step-by-step relationship to the platen and the selection of the desired type carrier to print the desired symbol. The flexible connection 7 which is illustrated as a spring compensates only for the shifting of the type carrier with respect to the carriage 2.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 the identical parts are identically identified. A type cylinder or type body 11 which is an arcuate or cylindrical type body having type carriers disposed on its periphery is mounted for rotation on the carriage 2. Character selection means 13 similar to the character selection means 3 varies the tension on a pull 15 which is rigidly coupled to the type cylinder 11 and has a flexible connection 17 to the carriage 2. Variations in the tension on the flexible coupling 17 due to variation in the length of the path of the pull 15 causes the type cylinder 11 to be rotated on its axis to present the desired type carrier for imprinting by the impact of the hammer means 8 onto a sheet disposed or supported on the platen 1.

As best illustrated in FIG. 3, the type cylinder 11 has type carriers arranged upon its periphery and has type carriers arranged in a second coordinate direction which is an axial direction so that there are type carriers disposed in both coordinate directions. The type cylinder 11 is mounted on the carrier 2 to both rotate about its axis and to move or shift on its axis to present a type carrier disposed in either of the coordinate directions to the printing position.

To shift the type cylinder 11 on its axis, character selection means 23 varies the tension on a pull or cable 25 which is rigidly connected or coupled to the type cylinder 11 and has flexible coupling 27 which is illustrated as connected to the type cylinder to resist the axial movement. By varying the tension on the pull 25,

'the type cylinder 11 is shifted axially to present various Preferably, when the type cylinder 11 has carriers disposed in both the axial and the circumferential coordinate directions, the pulls 15 and 25 are individual portions coupled together to a pull 5a so that a common feed means or device 4 acting on the pull 5a provides the feed motion to both of the pull portions. The pulls or cable portions 15 and 25 are connected to pull 5a at a distance from the feed means 4 so that the two portions 15 and 25 do not interfere with the feed means. To provide the necessary arrangement additional idler pulleys (not shown) may be utilized.

Each of the character selection means 3, l3 and 23 vary the tension on the respective pull or pull portions and are devices well known in the art. As illustrated, the character selection means 3, 13 and 23 utilize a plurality of pulleys whose center of rotation is mounted to pivot about a fixed center. Referring to the character selection means 3 of FIG. 1, five pulleys 28-32 are mounted with their centers of rotation to pivot about an offset or mounting center 3337 respectively. The distance between the center of each of the pulleys and their respective offset centers is different so that the pivoting of any of the pulleys 28-32 about their respective mounting center will vary the length of the path of the pull 5 a different amount. If each of the pulleys 28-32 has two selective positions with respect to its mounting point or offset center, a binary type of code can be utilized to provide the signal for each pulley. Since the distance of each of the pulleys 28-32 when shifted from its first to its second position is different, the variations in the length of the path of the pull 5 when passing through the character selection means 3 provide 32 possible variations in the length of the path of the pull 5. The number of various changes in the length of the path is equal to 2, where n equals the number of adjustable pulleys.

The character selection means 13 (FIG. 2) has four adjustable pulleys 40-43 and one fixed pulley 44. Thus character selection means 13 can provide 16 different positions or variations in the length of the path of the pull 15 to provide 16 distinct positions for the type cylinder 11. The character selection means 23 of FIG. 3 utilizing three adjustable pulleys 47, 48 and 49 provide 8 possible combinations to change the path of the pull 25 by eight distinct mounts to vary the axial position of the type cylinder 11 between eight possible positions. It should be noted that the type cylinder 11, as illustrated, only requires six adjustable positions. The character selection means is provided with structure 3a responsive to a signal; an exemplary form of such structure comprise the electromagnetic devices as shown in Clary, et al., US. Pat. No. 3,3lO,l47, and selectively positions the various pulleys as explained above.

the pulls 5 or 5a are directly engaged by the feed means 4. The feed means as illustrated have a pinion 50 attached to a ratchet 51. To rotate the ratchet 51, a lever 52 has a pawl or a dog 53 engaging the ratchet and is shifted in an arcuate direction by a cam 54 attached to a rotatable shaft 55. The pull 5 is provided with a portion 56 which is illustrated as a tooth belt that cooperatively or positively receives the teeth of the pinion 50. Thus a feed signal received by means 3a will cause rotation of the shaft 55 to cause the arm 52 to move a discrete angular distance transferring that motion via the pawl or dog 53 to the ratchet 51 to rotate the pinion 50 a fixed amount. The rotation of the pinion 50 causes the pull 5 to be stepped the desired distance to advance the carriage one space along the platen 1.

The character selection means such as 3, l3 and 23 each position their respective pulleys in response to adjustment signal or command to superimpose the adjustment motion on the feed motion to position the selected type carrier for printing. In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pulls and 25 are connected to the pull 5a so that the feed means 4 provide a common feed motion to both portions.

In operation, the character selection means such as 3 or 13 and 23 receive a signal and in response thereto, position their respective pulleys to vary the length of the path of the pull 5 or the pull portions 15 and 25 which shift the type body to position the desired type carrier before the hammer means 8. After the positioning of the type body, the hammer means 8 strikes or hits the type carrier to imprint the symbol of the type carrier on the paper supported on the platen 1. Then the feed means 4 advances the carrier with the type body and hammer means 8 one space along the axis of the platen 1. Since the feed mechanism 4 operates on the same pull as the character selection means such as 3, the character selection means only varies the path of the pull to position the type body before the hammer means 8 and does not need to compensate for the position of the carriage 2 with respect to the platen 1. Thus, the flexible connections 7, l7 and 27 compensate only for the movement of the type body on the carriage 2 and are not compensating for the distance of travel of the carriage 2 with respect to the platen 1.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a type printing device having a type body of a plurality of type carriers shiftably supported in a carriage to present different type carriers for striking by a hammer means carried by the carriage as the carriage is being moved along a platen member of the device, the improvements comprising;

a pull cable having one end rigidly connected to the carriage and the other end connected by a flexible connection to the carriage to form a continuous loop, said pull cable being rigidly coupled to the type body adjacent said other end;

feed means directly engaging the pull cable to move the carriage a predetermined distance along the platen in response to a feed signal; and

character selection means directly engaging the pull cable between the feed means and the other end to move theother end of the pull cable relatively to the flexible connection in response to a character selection signal so that the type body is shifted in the carriage to position the desired type carrier for the hammer means.

2. In a type printing device according to claim 1 wherein the type body is of a circular configuration rotatably supported on said carriage and said pull cable rotates the type body to present the desired type carrier for imprinting.

3. In a type printing device according to claim 1 wherein the feed means includes a feed pinion and a portion of the pull cable directly engageable by the feed means has means receiving the teeth of the feed pinion.

4. In a type printing device according to claim 1 wherein the type body has type carriers disposed in two coordinate directions, and wherein said pull cable has two portions adjacent said other end, each of said portions being rigidly coupled to said type body and being connected to the carriage by a flexible connection, each of said portions passing through a character selection means adapted to vary the relative position of its respective portion with respect to the carriage in response to a signal, so that a common feed means advances the carriage along the platen and the pair of portions of the cable in response to the signal received by their respective character selection means position the type body in both of the coordinate directions to position the desired type carrier for striking by the hammer means.

5. In a device for moving a hammer means and a type body having a plurality of type characters along a platen of a type printing device and for positioning a selected type carrier in alignment with a hammer means to be struck thereby, the device comprising; a carriage movable along the platen, said hammer means mounted on said carriage, a type body containing a plurality of type carriers supported for movement on said carriage to present a desired type carrier to said ham mer means, a cable having one end rigidly connected to said carriage and the other end attached to said carriage by a flexible connection, said cable being rigidly coupled to said type body adjacent said flexible connection, a feed means directly engaging a portion of said cable to move the carriage a predetermined distance along the platen in response to a feed signal, and a character selection means directly engaging the cable to vary the length of its path in response to a character selection signal so that the type body is moved relative to the carriage to position the desired type carrier before the hammer means.

6. In a device according to claim 5, wherein the type body has type carriers disposed in two coordinate directions, and wherein the cable adjacent the other end is divided into two portion, each of which are rigidly coupled to said type body and are each attached to said carriage by a flexible coupling, a character selection means directly engaging each of said portions for varying the length of the path of the respective portions in response to a character selection signal to move the type body in both coordinate directions with respect to said carriage as said feed means advances said carriage a predetermined distance in response to a feed signal.

7. In a type printing device having a type body of a pluraltiy of type carriers shiftable with respect to a hammer means to present different type carriers for striking by the hammer means as the type body and hammer means are being moved along a platen member of the device, the improvement comprising;

a cable having one end interconnected to the other. end by a flexible connection to form a continuous cable, said cable being rigidly coupled to the type body adjacent said other end;

feed means directly engaging the cable to advance the one end of the cable a predetermined distance along the platen in response to a feed signal; and

character selection means directly engaging the cable between the feed means and the other end to move the other end of the cable relative to the flexible connection in response to a character selection signal so that the type body is shifted with respect to the hammer means to position the desired type carrier for printing. 

1. In a type printing device having a type body of a plurality of type carriers shiftably supported in a carriage to present different type carriers for striking by a hammer means carried by the carriage as the carriage is being moved along a platen member of the device, the improvements comprising; a pull cable having one end rigidly connected to the carriage and the other end connected by a flexible connection to the carriage to form a continuous loop, said pull cable being rigidly coupled to the type body adjacent said other end; feed means directly engaging the pull cable to move the carriage a predetermined distance along the platen in response to a feed signal; and character selection means directly engaging the pull cable between the feed means and the other end to move the other end of the pull cable relatively to the flexible connection in response to a character selection signal so that the type body is shifted in the carriage to position the desired type carrier for the hammer means.
 2. In a type printing device according to claim 1 wherein the type body is of a circular configuration rotatably supported on said carriage and said pull cable rotates the type body to present the desired type carrier for imprinting.
 3. In a type printing device according to claim 1 wherein the feed means includes a feed pinion and a portion of the pull cable directly engageable by the feed means has means receiving the teeth of the feed pinion.
 4. In a type printing device according to claim 1 wherein the type body has type carriers disposed in two coordinate directions, and wherein said pull cable has two portions adjacent said other end, each of said portions being rigidly coupled to said type body and being connected to the carriage by a flexible connection, each of said portions passing through a character selection means adapted to vary the relative position of its respective portion with respect to the carriage in response to a signal, so that a common feed means advances the carriage along the platen and the pair of portions of the cable in response to the signal received by their respective character selection means position the type body in both of the coordinate directions to position the desired type carrier for striking by the hammer means.
 5. In a device for moving a hammer means and a type body having a plurality of type characters along a platen of a type printing device and for positioning a selected type carrier in alignment with a hammer means to be struck thereby, the device comprising; a carriage movable along the platen, said hammer means mounted on said carriage, a type body containing a plurality of type carriers supported for movement on said carriage to present a desired type carrier to said hammer means, a cable having one end rigidly connected to said carriage and the other end attached to said carriage by a flexible connection, said cable being rigidly coupled to said type body adjacent said flexible conneCtion, a feed means directly engaging a portion of said cable to move the carriage a predetermined distance along the platen in response to a feed signal, and a character selection means directly engaging the cable to vary the length of its path in response to a character selection signal so that the type body is moved relative to the carriage to position the desired type carrier before the hammer means.
 6. In a device according to claim 5, wherein the type body has type carriers disposed in two coordinate directions, and wherein the cable adjacent the other end is divided into two portion, each of which are rigidly coupled to said type body and are each attached to said carriage by a flexible coupling, a character selection means directly engaging each of said portions for varying the length of the path of the respective portions in response to a character selection signal to move the type body in both coordinate directions with respect to said carriage as said feed means advances said carriage a predetermined distance in response to a feed signal.
 7. In a type printing device having a type body of a pluraltiy of type carriers shiftable with respect to a hammer means to present different type carriers for striking by the hammer means as the type body and hammer means are being moved along a platen member of the device, the improvement comprising; a cable having one end interconnected to the other end by a flexible connection to form a continuous cable, said cable being rigidly coupled to the type body adjacent said other end; feed means directly engaging the cable to advance the one end of the cable a predetermined distance along the platen in response to a feed signal; and character selection means directly engaging the cable between the feed means and the other end to move the other end of the cable relative to the flexible connection in response to a character selection signal so that the type body is shifted with respect to the hammer means to position the desired type carrier for printing. 